The need for affordable, accessible housing for Fauquier seniors living on fixed incomes is severe, it is a crisis that no one is talking about.Our senior apartments have waitlists of 2-3 years. This causes our elders to seek out housing wherever they can find it and it is almost always unaffordable, substandard, unsuitable for the aging, and in many cases, all three. I am not afraid to say this is absolutely unacceptable in the 29th wealthiest county in the nation. We must act.
Our vision is to create 44 rental units for veterans aged 65 and older. These units are 576 square feet and arranged in L-shaped duplexes that are further placed in quad fashion to encourage friendships and interaction. It is envisioned as a pedestrian-only community with several units fully accessible from the parking lot. Many pocket community and aging-in-place concepts are built into the community, too many to list here. I can assure you it will be a first-of-its-kind community and a place of rest and beauty.
Roughly 25% of America’s seniors are veterans and what better place to start in solving this crisis than here? The creation of these units for our area veterans will go a long way to provide immediate relief to our local affordable senior housing crisis.
Perhaps, the most difficult recent development has been to see this important project used negatively in political campaigns. There are now many misconceptions, misunderstandings, and outright untruths running rampant through our previously close-knit community. Veterans and seniors are hurt and neighbors are frightened. I have put together a list of FAQs answering some of the most common questions and concerns.
My greatest hope is that everyone will take a deep breath and a moment to learn more.